Gov. Ron DeSantis extends state eviction moratorium

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 6/29/20-Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks after signing the $92.2 billion 2020-21 budget Monday during a news conference at the Capitol in Tallahassee. DeSantis vetoed more than $1 billion from the spending plan sent to him by the legislature. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Wednesday evening to extend the state’s eviction moratorium to Sep. 1 at 12:01 a.m.

“I hereby suspend and toll any statute providing for final action at the conclusion of a mortgage foreclosure proceeding under Florida law solely when the proceeding arises from non-payment of mortgage by a single-family mortgagor adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency,” said the executive order. 

The moratorium is intended to provide relief for the thousands of Floridians who remain out-of-work or are otherwise economically-impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The executive order was first put into effect on April 2 amid the state’s economic shutdown. The moratorium has now been extended for a fourth time.

The Governor has previously extended the ban twice, hours before it was set to expire, news outlets reported. During the Governor’s extension last month, 743 eviction orders had been filed in Palm Beach County alone, according to Sharon Bock, the county’s clerk of courts. As of Wednesday, 1,001 eviction orders have been filed in the county.

The issue of a moratorium has remained impassioned among activists and Democratic lawmakers since its implementation. Without it, supporters say, out-of-work Floridians are left at the mercy of landlords and banks.

DeSantis teased the likelihood of an extension on Tuesday at a press conference in Orlando by offering the press a 9-word reply.

“We might,” DeSantis said. “We’ll have an announcement on that soon.”

The Governor’s brevity on the issue was not out-of-character. To the frustration of many, each extension has historically been announced late into the evening and with little time to spare. The current moratorium, announced notably earlier than the others, was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 1.

Last week, the state received more than 120,000 new unemployment claims, according to Florida Department of Economic Opportunity data.

In total, roughly 3.18 million Floridians have filed for unemployment since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Florida’s death count spiked to a new height Tuesday with 191 reported fatalities, according to the state Health Department. The health department also reported 9,230 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total for the pandemic to nearly 442,000.

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